Bernie Sanders: ‘Marijuana Should Be Legal Nationwide’

Article by Sam Riches, Growth Op

Following New York lawmakers passing a bill earlier this week to legalize adult-use cannabis, Bernie Sanders, the longest-serving independent in U.S. congressional history, is urging national reform.

“Marijuana should be legal nationwide,” Sanders tweeted on Tuesday. “It is absurd and idiotic that the federal government considers marijuana to be as dangerous as heroin.”

Cannabis legalization was a key plank in Sanders’ campaign for the Democratic Party nomination for U.S. president in 2020.

If elected, Sanders vowed to legalize cannabis within his first 100 days in office by using an executive action, as well as vacating and expunging all past cannabis-related convictions.

It’s a stance that increasingly aligns with the views of U.S. voters, across party lines.

In the November 2020 election, voters in Arizona, Montana, New Jersey, Mississippi and South Dakota approved cannabis reform measures while a national Gallup Poll released that same month revealed nearly seven in 10 respondents approve of federal legalization, a record high.

“New York has a storied history of being the progressive capital of the nation, and this important legislation will once again carry on that legacy,” Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement on Tuesday night.

Under the new legislation, New Yorkers over 21 can legally possess up to three ounces (85 grams) of cannabis and can grow up to 12 plants per household.

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